Cholesterol is a waxy substance that's found in the fats (lipids) in your blood. While your body needs cholesterol to continue building healthy cells, having high cholesterol can increase your risk of heart disease.

When you have high cholesterol, you may develop fatty deposits in your blood vessels. Eventually, these deposits make it difficult for enough blood to flow through your arteries. Your heart may not get as much oxygen-rich blood as it needs, which increases the risk of a heart attack. Decreased blood flow to your brain can cause a stroke. High cholesterol can cause atherosclerosis, a dangerous accumulation of cholesterol and other deposits on the walls of your arteries. These deposits — called plaques — can reduce blood flow through your arteries, which can cause complications, such as:Chest pain, Heart attack, Stroke.All above are effects of high cholesterol.

Medical treatment is very import when high cholesterol happens.

Bile acid sequestrants: These drugs bind with cholesterol-containing bile acids in the intestines and allow them to be eliminated in the stool. Bile acid sequestrants may lower LDL cholesterol by about 10%-20%. Bile acid sequestrants are sometimes prescribed with a statin to enhance cholesterol reduction.Cholestyramine(Questran, Questran Light), colestipol (Colestid), and colesevelam (WelChol) are the three bile acid sequestrants currently available. These three drugs are available as powders or tablets and are are not absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract.

Cholesterol absorption inhibitors: These drugs inhibit cholesterol absorption in the gut and has few, if any, side effects. Cholesterol absorption inhibitors may be rarely associated with tongue swelling (angioedema). Ezetimibe (Zetia) reduces LDL cholesterol by 18%-20%. It is probably most useful in people who cannot tolerate taking statins. When used in addition to a statin, ezetimibe is equivalent to doubling or tripling the statin dose.